Write the Song Anyway

This blog post is for songwriters, all songwriters: the published, the not published, the ones making money and the ones that never even let the song leave the napkin. Regardless of where you’re songwriting “career” is, If you’ve written a song, you are a songwriter and I have some tips for you. This blog isn’t a guide to songwriting but more of a reason to why you should write songs, I’ll write another one with tips for writing your song.

When you first decide to write a song, it’s usually because you get an idea, and you think; “Hey, that would make a good song.” Then, you set about to write the song. Or at least you try too. You settle in with your pen and paper, perhaps a guitar, piano, some type of recording device, and you write…nothing or just short of nothing. You have the original idea, so you start there, but then the damn closes and nothing else happens. So you think, that’s it, this song is a dead end and you hop on Facebook and scroll for the next 3 days and the song dies in your brain. Well, I’m here to tell you, get the heck off Facebook, stress out, get frustrated write it one word at a time, but write the song anyway.

When you can’t think of the next phrase or the tune seems to allude you, write the song anyway. When the words don’t rhyme and the lyrics make no sense, write the song anyway. When you’ve already spent hours, days and weeks, keep at it and write the song anyway. When you have wrung your hands, pulled your hair and wasted “The Art of War’s” worth of paper, write the song anyway.

Why, you might ask? I’ve heard before that a song should come naturally and “good songs write themselves”. Well as quaint and romantic as that idea might be, it isn’t always the case,“Hotel California” wasn’t written in a day, why do you think your song should be? It’s important for you to know that your song might not be a hit song, but that doesn’t make it any less excellent. I assure you, I’m not just trying to shoot rainbows and unicorns up your booty, I believe that your song is amazing, and I want you to believe it too, so you will write the song anyway.

Here are the reasons you have to finish the song in no particular order:

You are getting paid to write it.

You want to get paid to write it.

You want people to hear your song.

You don’t want them to hear it, but you need it out of your head.

You want someone to hear your message.

Your message is important.

You could change someone’s life with your song.

You could change the world with your song.

Now stop making excuses and telling yourself why you can’t get it done and write the song anyway!!!